Vietnam-US relationship – 18 years of development

Since the US ended its embargo against Vietnam on February 3, 1994, and normalized relations a year later, the bilateral relationship between the two countries has developed in all fields for the benefit of both sides.

Normalization began with humanitarian efforts such as searching for the remains of US servicemen in Vietnam, and negotiations of a bilateral trade agreement, as well as Vietnam joining the WTO, all of which have been very successful.

Since former President Bill Clinton visited Vietnam in 2005 and Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visited the US in 2008, the relationship between the two nations has been raised to a new level and cooperation has been expanded in all fields.

At a recent reception for a delegation of four US senators led by John McCain, PM Dung reaffirmed Vietnam’s open foreign policies for diversification and multilateralism towards international integration.

Vietnam considers the US its leading partner and hopes to develop the bilateral relationship, as well as strengthen economic, trade, and investment ties, he said.

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said his country attaches great importance to developing its relationships in the Asia-Pacific region, including Vietnam, for the sake of peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.

The US aims to boost cooperation with Vietnam in economics, trade, investment, science, and technology, as well as education and training , said Campbell.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and the US reflects the most effective cooperation, increasing dramatically over the years, reaching US$20 billion in 2011. The US is now Vietnam’s largest importer.

At a recent visit to Vietnam, Senator Lieberman said the US hopes that its Vietnamese partners will lower their trade barriers to allow US goods to penetrate the market.

Cooperation has also been promoted in education and training, with the number of Vietnamese students in the US in 2011 tripling compared to three years ago. Vietnam is now among the nine countries with the highest number of students studying the US.

The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton highly valued the significant development of US-Vietnam relations, saying that the US aims to develop an even stronger relationship with the Southeast Asian country.

The positive development of Vietnam-US relations in all fields demonstrates the US government’s sound decision to remove the embargo and normalize relations with Vietnam. This cooperation is working towards connecting the two distant countries for mutual benefit, stability, and prosperity.